Skeletal remains found near I-90 in Albert Lea

Here are the latest updates regarding human remains found near I-90 near Albert Lea, Minnesota. Check back for more developments if they are made available.

New: 04.08.15 Personal effects were found at the scene including a ring and shoes

Audio of news conference posted below

Remains appear to be of a male

Property owner discovered remains

A 911 call just after 6 pm alerted the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office to the remains near a fence along the south side of I-90, about a half mile east of Highway 13.

Remains will be sent to Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office

The Sheriff’s office said there are no known missing persons cases in Freeborn County

New: 04.08.15 KTTC-TV // The Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office says the first phase of the autopsy performed on skeletal human remains found near Albert Lea has been completed.

Freeborn County Sheriff Kurt Freitag said a ring was found with the remains. The ring is 10 ct gold, shaped like a class ring, and has a large red stone.

Sheriff Freitag goes on to say a pair of shoes were found, but the poor condition of them makes them useless in the investigation.

Ring found with skeletal remains that were discovered near Albert Lea on Monday

The first phase of the autopsy has not uncovered a cause of death. The second and more detailed phase will be conducted soon.

The remains of a body were discovered off interstate I-90 in Freeborn County on Monday when a property owner was picking up trash near the interstate fence. That’s when he found a human skull and other identifiers like shoes and clothing.

He called Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office, who conducted the initial investigation. Sheriff Kurt Freitag said he asked the state Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to join in the investigation. Officials spent all Tuesday morning at the crime scene.

It is believed the remains belong to a male, and have been there for quite some time.

“Taking a look at the remains, and I did see the remains as they were found, my guess is that the remains have been there for maybe a couple of years,” said Freitag. “The bones were kinda sunk down into the soil a little ways, what clothing was left was pretty deteriorated, so they’ve been there for quite a while.”

Freitag said at this point, there is nothing the public should be concerned about, as the remains have been there for a long time and circumstances are unknown.

“At this point, there is nothing for the public to be concerned of. You know, this happened so long ago. We don’t know the circumstances behind it. We don’t know if the person had walked there and for some reason had passed away. We don’t know if someone had put him there. We just don’t know much at this point,” said Freitag.

Freitag also said that we can use this as an example for any family that might be missing a family member.

“If a family has a member missing, it’s very important for them to come into the BCA, give the BCA a DNA sample,” said Freitag. “In cases like this where we do find remains where we have no clue who that person is, we can extract DNA from the remains and run it through our database, and hopefully be able to give a family some closure.”

04.07.15 KNSI // The Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a man whose remains were found early Monday evening off the shoulder of Interstate 90 in rural Freeborn County.

A nearby property owner reported the remains at about 6 p.m., which were discovered northeast of Albert Lea near a fence along the south side of I-90 about a half mile east of Highway 13.

Based on a preliminary assessment of the remains, they appear to be those of a male, and the remains appear to have been there for a number of years, according to the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office.

There are no known missing persons cases in Freeborn County which can be connected with this investigation at this time, according to law enforcement officials.

The remains will be taken to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office to determine possible cause and manner of death.